CLARKSVILLE — Police are investigating the death of a Coal Hill man who was shot and killed Wednesday while walking on a trail north of Hartman.

The Johnson County Sheriff's Office said Thomas Edward Sears, 43, was killed after a resident, whose name police are withholding pending the outcome of their investigation, fired a 30-30 rifle across Horsehead Creek at what the resident thought was a deer. The resident called 911 after discovering Sears, who was pronounced dead at the scene, lying on the trail. Two witnesses were also at the residence when Sears was shot, Johnson County Sheriff Jimmy Dorney said in an interview Thursday.

Dorney said no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting, which is being investigated as an accident. Dorney said it will be "several days" before investigators meet with local prosecutors, who will determine if charges will be filed. Sears' body has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock for an autopsy.

Dorney said his office is working with investigators from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Arkansas State Police and that the investigation is "far from over."

A press release from Dorney's office stated it was unclear why Sears was walking on the trail Wednesday afternoon.

...2006, Dick Cheney shot a guy in the face. He died and was brought to life - in the short thereafter, he had a heart attack while he was traveling in the EMS Squad Unit. Cheney didn't report the shooting for several days, much less the media. What happened to him? Nothing...